British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the representative and governing body of sport for the Higher Education (HE) sector. It is a not-for-profit organisation, representing 165 universities and colleges and delivers over 50 sporting competitions and several physical activity programmes to 2.4m UK students. The organisation has a £5m turnover and has c. £250,000 worth of sponsorships currently, with a mission to provide the best university sport experience in the world.

BUCS embarked on a significant modernisation programme in 2019 to improve the customer experience and use data to increase engagement, provide better services and, crucially, drive commercial revenue to facilitate future growth of services. It is the only organisation running national competitions for HE students in the UK and operates on a global level.

The organisation recently implemented a new competition platform, alongside a mobile app covering 6,000 teams and 120 events for 100,000 participants every year. This was backed up with a new website, underpinned by an integrated CRM and a significant increase in human resources in digital engagement.

BUCS has seen this investment pay off and is now seeking to bring in a new Trustee to guide the organisation, and provide challenge and support on the next stage of its journey. It is an exciting time to join BUCS as it continues to modernise and has significant growth plans over the coming years. The organisation plans to grow commercial revenues and increase broadcasting deals through the continued implementation of its digital programmes, the introduction of data collection, and raising brand recognition. BUCS will have a much wider reach in public as a result of the improvement and growth of its services.

BUCS is looking for a new Trustee to help drive the organisation's mission and strategic aims. This person will be responsible for:

• Supporting, advising and challenging the BUCS executive team in general organisational matters
• Providing strategic commercial insight and direction to the organisation
• Advising and challenging the commercial and engagement staff teams at BUCS to grow income from commercial partners
• Facilitating introductions and discussions with corporate partners
• Representing BUCS publicly

BUCS is looking for a Trustee to play an active part in a dynamic Board, with specific responsibility for supporting the growth of commercial income. The organisation is looking for someone to guide the Board and Executive team on how it can approach its commercial strategy, attract and retain corporate partners to increase revenue, and develop enhanced services to its stakeholders. Candidates will have a demonstrable track record in growing commercial partnerships and increasing revenue from any sector. They will also bring strong commercial acumen along with a creative and innovative mindset and have the ability to challenge and support the Board and Executive team.

Ideally, the new Trustee will have operated in a multi-faceted role and for an organisation at different stages of its development journey and will ideally have experience in B2C (but this is not essential). Experience of working with sponsors (across brands, rights holders and intermediaries) would be welcomed but is not essential. All candidates must have a passion for BUCS’ mission to ‘create the best university sport experience in the world’.

This role is unremunerated, and reasonable, pre-agreed domestic travel expenses will be reimbursed. There are four half-day Board meetings annually, which usually take place in London. Ad hoc events include calls or meetings with the Executive team may occur outside of the quarterly Board meetings. The appointment is for a three-year term, which can be renewed once at the discretion of the Board.